


Rain, Rain, Go Away

by the_waterbirds



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 20:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16047530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_waterbirds/pseuds/the_waterbirds
Summary: As the New Year rolls around, a certain class representative falls under the weather. Anxiety soon spreads to her close ones, requiring them to find a solution.





	Rain, Rain, Go Away

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this to cheer up, enjoy.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa.

As many would expect of the home to the Ultimates, Hope's Peak Academy was glittered with decorations for the upcoming occasion. Banners were hung, songs were sung, and spirits were high. While the halls were empty, the campus was flooded with activities and food stands for the celebration.

Chisa Yukizome sped through those empty halls to visit her favorite destination of the day, her classroom. Even though classes were not back in session until later this week, her students had asked her if they could use the room to meet up, and of course she agreed to them.

Chisa had spent the previous week away from her students, enjoying some quality time to herself. Yet after all the lovely calls to Kyosuke, her attempts to spend time with Juzo, and just taking a short break from the investigation, she couldn't help but miss her class. This led her to where she was standing now, the anxious spot outside the door to that sacred classroom.

"I have no reason to be scared, it's been a great week!" she told herself, pacing back and forth in front of the door. She knew the class was probably having a great time without her, and always had a fear deep inside her that they would forget about her one day. Although, she knew that wasn't the reason she had chills.

What was really bothering her was a feeling in her gut that arrived multiple days ago, telling her that something wasn't right. Lately, that feeling hasn't failed her as her students had bad days all the time, but surely no one could be feeling  _that_  bad today of all days. Trying to ignore the feeling didn't help much, so she thought a visit couldn't hurt.

Chisa's hand forced itself onto the door, and after a deep breath she closed her eyes and swung it open.

"Hello everyone!".

She opened her eyes to the silence, expecting the room to be empty, but was surprised to see her students scattered around the desks, almost expressionless.

"Hello Miss Yukizome." Sonia greeted her back politely, disregarding the mood of the room. Chisa slowly walked over to her wooden podium, not hearing a single word from anyone else.

"Why are you all so down? It's New Years Eve! You all should be out making memories by the minute!" Chisa exclaimed, analyzing her students one by one. They all had their attention on her at this point and were ready to rebuttal before she did it for them.

"Wait, where's Chiaki?".

"We don't exactly know." The Ultimate Imposter responded, watching as Chisa's face turned to one with slight concern after double-checking the room.

"She hasn't answered her phone to any of us, or even bother to answer the door to her dorm…" Mahiru said.

"Um…are you all sure she isn't on a vacation of her own?" Chisa asked, but Fuyuhiko quickly snapped back.

"She's the one who said we should spend time together doing all these damn things!".

"And yet she hasn't shown up to anything we attended to all week." Peko said, backing up Fuyuhiko as always. The sound of raindrops started to overtake the room as it returned to its original silence, leaving the new guest confused. Chiaki was indeed the one who had asked Chisa if they could meet up in the classroom, of course she would be here.

"I bet one of you dirty creeps scared her away!" Hiyoko yelled in the direction of Kazuichi and Teruteru, catching them off guard.

"W-what?" Kazuichi questioned, taking the insult to heart. "Chiaki isn't even my type! I have my eye on other beautiful girls…" he finished, looking in the direction of Sonia.

"You're the creep who ruined my quality soup! Now no one will want to eat it ever again!" Teruteru yelled back, causing Hiyoko's eyes to tear up at a flashback of Teruteru cornering her with bad intentions.

"Can we just agree that no one said anything to Chiaki?" Mahiru confirmed in a slightly annoyed tone, putting a comforting arm around Hiyoko. "She wouldn't let any of these boys get to her head anyway.".

"W-well what if something happened to h-her?" Mikan asked, regretting the fact those words slipped out of her mouth in the first place. Chisa continued to listen to their discussion as she processed the situation in her own head, blaming herself for not visiting sooner. Her mind flew to one place the girl had to be, but before that she had to check up on somebody.

"I'm going to go check up on things then, see you soon!" Chisa announced, leaving the others surprised at her fast dismissal. Wondering if she sounded a little too happy instead of worried, she sprinted down the hallway she arrived from.

"Um, can we go look for her?" Sonia asked the others, trying to ignore what Mikan had said earlier.

"Ibuki says hell yeah! It wouldn't be a New Years without the Class Rep!". High spirits filled the room as Sonia and Gundham led the way out, with Kazuichi close behind.

United they walked, without a thought in mind on how bad the situation really was.

* * *

"Can we stop for food?" Akane asked every time they passed by a food stand, with Nekomaru thinking similarly about the bathroom. But the two tried their best to ignore their addictions, and the Ultimates continued to march through the strengthening rain until they all made it to the dormitories.

After arriving at Chiaki's door, the students started to feel the anxiety that Chisa felt earlier.

"Are you a-all sure that Chi-Chiaki didn't go on a vacation?" Mikan asked, sounded as scared as she normally looked.

"Weren't you the one who suggested something happened to the girl?" Peko responded, causing Mikan to squeal.

The sound of knocking threw them all off, making their anxiety levels go higher. Everyone looked at the door and were not surprised that Nagito was one who started knocking carelessly, but nobody tried to stop him. After waiting a good minute, the door stayed closed as most of them expected.

"Chiaki open this fucking door right now if you are in there!" Fuyuhiko yelled, angry at the fact she had been off the map for three days. Before anyone could attempt to calm him down he gave a vicious look to Peko and she instantly knew what she had been ordered to do.

The door slammed down as two bodies collided into it, making the watchers flinch.

"What the fuck?".

Even though Chiaki was missing from the room, they noticed it was a little dirtier than they expected. Stepping over the fallen door, the others hesitantly followed into the room and investigated. Since Hope's Peak was an expensive and prodigious school reserved primarily for them, everyone's rooms were decently sized.

They weren't surprised by the large stacks of video game cases, nor the wrapping paper in the trash from the recent holiday. It was the individual things that started to stick out to them.

"That's a nice phone she has there." Kazuichi commented at the newest piece of technology that was sitting on her bed. "Wait, why's her phone here?!".

Mahiru looked over at a lonely dresser with Teruteru in front of it, and her confusion turned into guilt and anger.

"If you open that dresser you're going to end up like that door you desperate boy!" she yelled, trying to protect what was left of her friends privacy. "We shouldn't even be in here!".

"I'm sure that this is the pin she always wears in her hair!" Sonia announced, practically ignoring everything Mahiru just said. Next to it though, was the prize everyone was dying to know about.

It was a stack of wrapped presents, one that was an odd rectangle shape and the rest were three mini squares. They all stared at the nametags, which were all addressed to the same person.

"Who's Hajime?". The question started a search in their minds for a Hajime, but none of them could think of one. The rain sounded louder against the roof now, distracting the baffled class from finding an answer.

"Maybe he's family." The Ultimate Imposter said breaking the silence, as he personally was sure there was no Hajime in their class.

"She doesn't talk about her family that much…" Hiyoko said, thinking of her own.

"Or, he's her lover! And these presents are to win him over so sh-" Teruteru started to fantasize but was quickly slapped by Mahiru.

"Why are we ignoring the fact that she isn't fucking here?" Fuyuhiko yelled before Teruteru could respond to the pain.

"Have any of you tried checking the fountain?".

They all looked out into the hallway to see their teacher back in action, noticing she was looking at the fallen door in a disappointing manner. No one questioned her ability to find them when she needed to anymore, even though it was slightly concerning.

"Miss Yukizome why would the fountain be important?" Sonia asked in a polite manner, and was answered by another classmate.

"I think that's where she usually hangs out after school." Mahiru recalled, as she loved taking pictures in that area.

"At this point I think it's best to stop and believe she isn't there." Peko said firmly, although on the inside she wishing she was wrong.

"Do you think Chiaki would give up on you so easily?!" Sonia burst out at the Swordswoman, letting her emotions get the best of her.

"No, but you do hear the rain, don't you? You believe a girl as smart as her would be out there?" Peko questioned back with logic.

"I'm sure if we all let hope guide us, we will certainly find out where she could be." Nagito said with a smile, leaving a few Ultimates surprised it took him so long to mention hope.

"I believe the one that brought us together and made us a team wouldn't be scared of a little rain." Nekomaru explained putting his hand into a fist.

"Does that mean we are going then?" Kazuichi asked, getting tired from the walking.

"Yes! Why don't you fix the door while you are at it!" Hiyoko ridiculed.

"I'm a mechanic, not a door repairer!".

With that, the class marched past Chisa to retrace their steps outside, this time heading in the direction of the fountain. Chisa noticed the scattered items around the room and prepared them for her next stop.

* * *

The walk up the lonely trail to the fountain was a silent one. They had no idea what to expect after searching Chiaki's room, and while everyone including Fuyuhiko was nervous, they all walked with their heads high. This meant they were forced to ignore the part of their minds that was screaming their class representative wouldn't be there.

The walk was annoying for most, but no one dared to complain. Mahiru tried to forget that she had her camera around her neck, Gundham didn't mind his Devas hiding in his scarf, and while Hiyoko was furious her New Years Kimono was getting soaked, she didn't say anything about it. The closer they got, the harder it poured.

Sooner than anyone expected, the fountain was in their field of view. The Ultimates eyed the bench as it became less of a small dot in the distance, and more of a glimmer of hope.

The bench turned from a dot to a line, and despite the rain they could clearly see it was more than a bench. "Is that…a person?" Mahiru asked, brushing the wet red hair out of her face.

"It's-is tha-" Mikan stuttered.

It was a girl lying sideways in their direction.

Without hesitation they sprinted, and even though Akane and Nekomaru were in the lead, the others were not far behind.

Arriving at the area, an atmosphere none of them ever wanted to be in set in immediately. It wasn't the rain that brought them into it, it was what every single one of their minds was thinking. 'She looked  _horrible_.'

While they certainly noticed obvious details like her hair and clothes being drenched, it was the minor details about her that shocked them. The dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, the freezing shivers her coatless body occasionally gave, and most importantly, the handheld device she carried everywhere was in a puddle on the ground in front of the bench.

"Chiaki!". Huddling around the bench and taking deep breaths, they studied the girl as she opened her eyes but stayed exactly the way she was.

"Are you o-ok?" Mikan asked, trying to analyze her body while asking a mindless question she knew the answer to.

"She's obviously not…" Hiyoko answered, refusing the urge to tear up again.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Fuyuhiko yelled in an angry tone, even though he was extremely worried for the girl on the inside.

"It may have been a person." Peko said as calmly as she was able to.

"My Devas will devour the foul beast that dared to lay their hands on you!" Gundham assured the girl with all his might.

"He didn't do anything to me…" Chiaki responded without moving a muscle. "It's not even his fault.". Speculations began to start, but some were more impatient than others.

"If I may ask, who?" Sonia asked politely to the one she admired during multiple occasions in the past. But no reply came from the girl.

"Hajime, is it?" Nagito said with a smile on his face, using his reliable luck that he would be the one she's talking about. While the others wanted to punch him, Chiaki's face turned dark, almost as if she had seen a ghost.

"You…know him?" Chiaki asked almost out of curiosity, but Nagito shook his head indicating no. "Oh.".

"You must know him though, don't you?" The Imposter said, trying to prolong the conversation. Yet she responded again with no words.

"Ibuki's not one for feels, so I wouldn't mind knowing what kind of things he did to you." Ibuki said arrogantly, and Chiaki's face was no longer stoic.

"I said he didn't do anything to me!" the Ultimate Gamer exploded, now on two feet. Everyone was stunned, even Chiaki herself. She fell right back onto the bench, this time sitting up but looking towards the ground, not bothering to move the wet hair out of her eyes. Ibuki stood in place, half intrigued at this being the first time she ever heard the gamer's voice raised, and half inspired to make a metal song off what she just witnessed. The others though, were less enthusiastic.

They could clearly tell this was Chiaki at her lowest, and oddly they were the ones who felt awkward. She had always been the one there for them, leading them when Chisa was gone, organizing so many events, and when she needed help the most, they didn't know what to do.

That didn't stop them from trying.

Sonia took a seat to Chiaki's right with Mahiru on her left, and the others either sat on or leaned against the ledge of the fountain, while some chose to still stand near the bench. Rain continued to soak the students, but they didn't care. They one thing that mattered to them all was that they were there for Chiaki, even if they weren't a huge help to her.

* * *

Hajime Hinata's body was aching at the words he had spoken. He recalled the scene perfectly as if it happened an hour ago, but surprisingly it had already been three whole days.

" _So, are you ready to meet them?" Chiaki had curiously asked him after he lost to her yet again in Gala Omega._

While he had gotten used to losing over the months, he still was not used to how his talented friend was happy to be with, and at times seemed jealous, of somebody like him.

It was the first day they had saw each other over the break, and he was supposed to meet her class full of talented students that day. But the pain only got stronger as his mind skipped over plenty and thought back to the deadly words that ruined the day for the both of them.

" _I can't stay at the school for much longer.". Chiaki's face turned from one with excitement to a dreadful face of confusion in one quick blink of his eyes._

" _W-what? Why…?"._

" _It's getting too expensive to stay."._

Hajime came to a blank. Guessing it was a sign, he stopped thinking about it. Or rather tried to stop thinking about it. He knew Chiaki instantly offered to help him with money, and after some time of Chiaki convincing him he accepted. He wished the memory ended like that, but he knew he wouldn't be sitting alone on top of a statue in the middle of a forest if it did.

_The two sat on the bench for a while after Chiaki's saving offer, trying to brush the awkwardness off. He didn't think the plans for him to meet the Ultimates changed, even though they were supposed to leave to her classroom a while before the confession. Nevertheless, he was glad he told her the truth, or at least most of it. The money was the reason he had to make a decisive decision to leave or 'stay' in the first place, so if he didn't have to worry about funds he wouldn't have to worry about the school's question for a while._

The aching part came after that.

Chiaki said she would do one more round before they left to go, so they did. Only a minute into the round, he noticed Chiaki had gotten a game over, which always meant something distracted her. He watched as she pulled out her phone, and he wished he could forget the look on her face as she looked down at it. It was a mixture of different emotions thrown into one look. Horror, sadness, and something else he couldn't seem to find the word for. Something so terrible it is the very reason he can't get this image of his close friend out of his head.

She dropped her Game Girl Advance to the ground with her phone falling onto her lap. Even though concerned, Hajime just froze.

And he hates himself for it. Why, why didn't he just give her a hug and at least try to comfort her? After everything she did for him, including just then, he just sat and stared at the lost girl. Even after having a glimpse at the text, why did he hesitate to say  _anything_?

_Chiaki dear,_

_You should know better than to try and help people who can't be helped. I'm ensuring you don't loan him our money for your own sake, as you know how your father would react._

_Mom._

It was as formal as a text could be. Chiaki had very rarely talked about her family to Hajime in the past, and the one key note he took was that they were very successful business leaders. She never said anything more detailed than that, and by the look on her face after the text he could assume why. She hated them.

"I guess I hate them too." Hajime said to himself out loud, snapping back to reality.

"Hate who?". Hajime immediately jumped at the words coming from nowhere, causing him to almost fall to the ground.

"How did you even find me?" He asked, looking up at the orange haired teacher that kept making her way into his life at random times like this one.

"It's not hard. Besides, I've been here for a few minutes now…" Chisa responded, putting her umbrella over Hajime's head. "So, what are you doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be enjoying the day with a friend?" she asked, trying to get to her point quickly. She hadn't talked to Chiaki personally, but she did indeed spot her as she briefly visited the fountain to confirm her location.

Besides asking himself how long he was zoned out for, Hajime had questions of his own. Although, he didn't know how to answer Chisa's question first. Well he did, but telling her 'I'm hiding from my only friend out of guilt' or 'I don't know what to tell them' wouldn't sound too go-

"She needs you, you know." Chisa spoke before Hajime could, cutting off Hajime's thoughts a second time.

"Do you even know what happened?" Hajime asked only one of his questions he had for the confident woman, nearly ignoring what she had just said, but her facial expression turned to a slightly concerned one.

"No, but she's my student. I care about her just as much as you may, and I'm sure you know she thinks highly of you." she stated to the boy in a wet suit. She noticed his face gave more of a troubled vibe than it did in their previous encounters, but didn't let it get to her. "And by the looks of it, you both need to solve whatever is bringing you down.".

 _If only it was that simple_.

Before he decided to argue, his brain finally took Chisa's words into account, and they almost made him feel…shocked. Chiaki needed help. And if he's correct, it's because of him Chisa is even here in the first place.

He may have failed before, but he knew what he had to do now.

"Thank you." Hajime said in a normal tone to Chisa, not knowing what else to say. Her face turned to a big smile, and she held out her hand which contained a small object.

"Is that…?" Hajime's heart started racing, as he had never seen Chiaki without that object in her hair. It was like a unique part of her that represented what she lived for. Video games.

Chisa placed it into his palms and told him to be careful. After thanking her again Hajime immediately turned around and headed to the only place on his mind. Chiaki did too much for somebody as talentless and worthless like him, and he cared too much about her to let her stay troubled over him. As he headed out of the forest, he only hoped he had the guts to truly tell her what he felt.

* * *

The Ultimates found themselves in a slightly better situation than before. Overtime Sonia started to try to fix Chiaki's hair, Mahiru had her arm around Chiaki so she would 'stop shivering', when it was really for her own mental health, and everyone else was focusing on the same thing Chiaki was, Kazuichi rushing back up the path towards them.

Kazuichi had quickly gone back to his own room and immediately started tinkering with the blue game device found on the ground, since he lacked the materials to fix it at the fountain and the rain wouldn't help. After opening the back of it and replacing a few fried circuits, it turned on without a problem.

"Thank you." Chiaki told him, showing a small glimpse of the first smile the others had seen from her in what felt like ages ago. Everyone noticed she started to look more relaxed as time went on, even though this was her first sentence since that small outburst.

"No problem Miss Chiaki!" Kazuichi responded proudly to his rarely given praise. "I also added water protection, so it should work now." He went on, scratching his head at Sonia's perfect smile.

They all watched as the game device came to life with the text reading 'Game Girl Advance' appearing, and then switching to the title screen of the game in the console. The game was titled 'Gala Omega', but the class just recognized it as the game she always played. It was a dark but slightly colorful title screen, all pixel art, and above the 'start game' was a spaceship flying around. The Ultimates analyzed detail by detail until they realized that they had been staring at a title screen for far too long.

"Um…Chiaki?" Peko asked, slightly confused if the game started itself or not.

_Why did I let them say no?_

"Chiaki, is everything alright?" Kazuichi asked, scared to know if he messed up anything.

_He could be gone already…_

Sonia stopped messing with her friend's hair, and Mahiru couldn't stop focusing on Chiaki's non-blinking eyes staring at the screen.

_I'm not ready for him to leave._

Hiyoko got up from the fountain while refusing to look down at her soaked kimono and joined the others who were moving back in front of the bench.

_What if he didn't want to be around me? I'm so cling-_

Chiaki snapped back into reality as Fuyuhiko was shaking her side to side, and noticed everyone was in front of her, besides Sonia and Mahiru.

"Huh?" she asked, looking directly at Fuyuhiko.

"What the hell is happening with you? Rather, what happened with Hajime?" Fuyuhiko demanded, secretly asking out of concern to know if he had to take action or not.

"He said he can't stay at the school for much longer.".

"D-did he get expelled like those other kids a while back?" Mikan asked, remembering the story of the drugged sweets.

Chiaki shook her head. "He said it was hard to afford staying…" she answered in a low voice, with some not even hearing.

For the ones that did hear, it answered several questions they had before, but most importantly, it made sense why they had no clue who Hajime was.

"Wait, he's a reserve student?" Fuyuhiko asked his second question, thinking of his own sister. Chiaki nodded in response. A small grin appeared on Fuyuhiko.

"So what makes this kid so special to you then?" he started, not knowing the implications of what was about to come. "He doesn't even have tale-".

"You don't need a talent to be important!" Chiaki cut him off, shutting the Ultimate Yakuza himself up. "I was even going to introduce him to you all!".

"Fuyuhiko doesn't speak for all of us!" Hiyoko shouted back, not liking the fact Chiaki was the loudest of them all. The two were burning hot in the cold rainy atmosphere, and the unstable emotions from one of them was not helping.

"I would love to meet him." Sonia reacted with a smile, as she was always interested in new people.

"But…" Chiaki started, not saying the words.

_He's gone._

"I just wanted to help him." She continued, forgetting the previous sentence.

"But to help him you would have to, um." Hiyoko started, losing her train of thought.

"Loan him money. That is what students would do in Novoselic." Sonia finished, wondering if the Japanese did something different.

Chiaki nodded her head, letting the other Ultimates know they were on the right track. Fuyuhiko was one step ahead.

"Did he deny it?" he asked, trying to sound more compelling this time.

"My parents did.".

The tone of Chiaki's voice made the story of three words sound almost catastrophic, making it harder for everyone to find a response.

"I'm sure they have their reasons…" Mahiru slowly said, breaking the silence.

"They may have not had enough to cover it." The Ultimate Imposter expanded on Mahiru's thoughts, but Chiaki didn't agree.

"Those two have enough money to fund the entire reserve course for years!" Anger rushed back out of the girls mouth, bringing back the uncharacteristic traits of the one they all respect. "And it was my own money." she continued, thinking of the other fact that hurt her dearly. "Tomorrow is even his birthday…".

Fuyuhiko's anger dropped to that statement. While some of the Ultimates were at a lost for words like Akane, or just lost in plain fantasy like Teruteru and Ibuki, Fuyuhiko had his read on the situation, and he didn't like it.

"Chiaki, how bad is the relationship with you and your parents?" he asked, limiting the curses from his mouth for a while. She didn't answer.

Chiaki never bothered to talk to anyone about her parents because of the negligence. She never had anyone to talk to them about anyway, since she spent all her times at arcades, or just playing video games alone, away. They were her escape for a very long time, but today was different.

She had friends now, one who even fixed her device. Yet it couldn't distract her from Hajime. Or her parents. They just kept coming back.

"Please tell us. I'm sure we can help you." Sonia comforted Chiaki, not leaving her side still.

"Um, it's very…diffic-" she paused, and her heart started racing.

_Oh my god._

* * *

Hajime made his way up the trail, reflecting on what he could. If he was going to have to leave, or take the other option, he wanted to see her one last time. The closer he got to the fountain the faster the memories between the two rotated in and out of his head, making him slightly dizzy. This didn't stop him from getting to the fountain.

When he finally arrived, the scene was not what he expected it to be. He immediately noticed Chiaki in the center of the bench, but her eyes weren't the only ones gazing at him. Multiple other people surrounded her, but Hajime didn't have time to worry about them.

Chiaki jumped up from the bench and ran straight into Hajime, throwing her hands around him and burying her head into his chest. Even though it was raining, he could certainly tell that wasn't the reason water was running down both of their faces.

"I'm sorry." Hajime told her, and she quickly looked up at him.

"Do-don't be." Chiaki responded, finding the right words. The two stood in place until they realized Hajime was essentially the reason she was still standing, but even as she regained herself she refused to let go of him.

"Um, sorry to ruin the moment…". Hajime focused his attention back on the others that were in various places around the bench, feeling the judgement from his every move. The speaker was a girl with red hair, and Hajime easily noticed she was being protective of a camera she had around her neck. "Are you Hajime?".

"Of course he is! Love makes people do some crazy shit, and we can see that here!" Ibuki said, observing the change in Chiaki from before to now. Chiaki tried to hide the red from her cheeks, and Hajime began to realize who these people are.

"Hajime, this is my class." She said, turning towards them. Some looked friendlier than others to him, but they all looked similar in a way.

"Um…I'm Hajime Hinata." He introduced himself, expecting backlash from the awkwardness. Much to his surprise, it never came.

"Hello!" A blonde girl sitting on the bench responded in an upbeat tone, who may have looked the cleanest out of everyone there despite being drenched as well. She introduced herself to him as the Ultimate Princess, which he felt was oddly specific, but would learn many of the others were like so.

The red-haired girl from earlier mentioned she was the Ultimate Photographer, and one by one they went off each other.

From the big motivational Ultimate Team Manager, to the small but deceiving Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Hajime started to feel almost…welcome. He was nothing like them, but they treated the stranger almost alike.

When he reached a man in a different type of suit, and a woman with a sword on her back to his side, slight tension started to appear. Hajime had no clue that Fuyuhiko knew about the entire situation, probably better than Hajime himself, but could still tell he was of some importance in all of this.

"I'm the Ultimate Yakuza." Fuyuhiko said in an imitating voice, testing Hajime.

"You seem good at it…" Hajime responded, trying hard not to stare at the sword on the back of the woman next to him.

"Damn right!" Fuyuhiko said, cracking a smile. Fuyuhiko continued to analyze the stranger to answer the questions in his own mind.

As the last introductions were made by the Ultimate Lucky Student who couldn't stop talking about how hopeful everyone had become, and the Ultimate Breeder who sounded like he was in a different world, Hajime noticed Chiaki looked happier than she first was when he arrived. He certainly saw that her eyes were red, and her other body features made it look like she hadn't been eating or sleeping well, but he decided not to talk about it.

Everyone let Chiaki back on the bench so she would stop using Hajime as a balance, and while Mikan was worried for her health she decided it would be better to mention it later.

The real conversation started then.

"I don't want you to leave…" Chiaki said, leaning her head onto Hajime's shoulder. He didn't mind her touching him at all, but was a little surprised at how she went from little physical contact to…this. Just a while ago he was regretting he hadn't comforted her, and yet the moment he arrived here she hugged him. "I don't care if you have no special talent, you are you…".

"I don't want to leave you either…". Why would he want to leave? Even in a storm like this, she was his warmth. It hurt him to see her miserable, which is part of the reason was scared to come back here.

Looking around at the uneasy faces of the other Ultimates, he could tell they hated it too. But the decision was final, he had no way to stay. At least not the way he was, and there would be consequences to everything Chiaki said if he took the other route.

But it would keep him around. At least if it worked it would, then he could fit rig—

"I have a solution.".

Everyone's eyes turned towards the only other man in a suit, who brought back his grin. "Your parents aren't the only fucking millionaires in this world, I'd be a failure if I wasn't." the Ultimate Yakuza said, thinking of his clan.

"You never seemed like the type that lived a lucrative life." The Ultimate Imposter said, as he had done moderate research on the class's personalities. This was something that should have been obvious to him, as he was the  _leader_  of the Yakuza. Yet from the way Fuyuhiko acted, almost violent and humble at the same time, the vital clue slipped over the Imposter.

"I could live one if I wanted to." Fuyuhiko answered, then focused on the bench. "I'll make you a deal Hajime.".

Making deals with the Yakuza was something Hajime never thought he would do in his life, but under the right circumstances…

"What is it?". Hajime felt Chiaki clenching his arm, almost in more panic than him. Paranoia was clouding over her, even though she knew Fuyuhiko helped vote her into their class representative position and they had no bad relationship. But only the worst was on her mind, what if the deal was one-sided? What if he just makes a deal Hajime couldn't accept? What if—

"I'll keep you in this school for as long as you need to, but-" Fuyuhiko started, waiting a moment for the hard part. "If Chiaki ever wants you gone, I'll stop helping.".

_What?_

Hajime paused. Does he believe she will get tired of him later, maybe because of the way he is…? Or is it because Fuyuhiko doesn't personally know him as well as she does? He obviously cares about her, if he is willing to do this.

"Please." Chiaki said in the most genuine voice she could. "I will always like being with you…". Her eyes were locked in with Hajime's, full of tears by now. "You were my first real friend. I'd do anything to keep playing video games with you!".

Hajime looked Fuyuhiko in the eyes, fully knowing this simple offer can change his life. The shaking of the girl next to him and all of the thoughts in his head lead him to only one answer though, one that felt…right.

"I'll take it.".

* * *

Eleven o'clock that night Miss Chisa Yukizome's classroom was in full session, a session that was special to everyone. Tasteful dishes covered the desks along with a massive cake in the center that towered over everything.

"Best fucking New Year's party ever!" Ibuki yelled, and Akane agreed while eating a massive dish Teruteru cooked specifically for her.

"I think so, how about you?" Chiaki asked, looking towards the new member in their party.

"For sure." Hajime responded, amazed by the cooking. He noticed Chiaki looked much better than earlier, since they all went back to their places to clean up before this. But she was missing one vital object, something that had been secretly bothering her since she learned about everyone's little adventure into her room. "You know what would make it better?". She looked at him curiously as he reached into his pocket, not knowing what to expect.

He pulled out the Gala Omega hairpin, making her eyes light up.

"Thank you!" She said, happy that somebody did have it and she wasn't the one who lost it. Chisa, who had been invited by the students themselves, sat in her own desk feeling accomplished. Completely disregarding the investigation, this was a defining moment telling her that she loved being a teacher.

Midnight crept up on the class faster than they expected as Hiyoko realized there were two minutes left until New Years. With that, Hajime and Chiaki found themselves side by side again, enjoying each other's company now more than ever. The unexpected chant came right as those two minutes passed by.

"Happy birthday!".

Confetti flew down from a small device Kazuichi hooked up to the ceiling tiles, and cake was soon served to everyone. Thanking everyone, especially Fuyuhiko, who seemed much different from his first impression, Hajime happily ate the cake.

Chiaki went into the backpack that she had brought and pulled out the wrapped gifts everyone but Hajime had seen earlier today. "Here you go!" she said excitingly, placing the stack of four perfectly wrapped presents onto the desk Hajime was at.

She told him to open the biggest one first, so he did so. After tearing the nicely wrapped paper apart, he found himself holding his own gaming device, a Game Girl Advance, but it looked different from the one Chiaki had herself. "I customized it, just for you. Now you don't have to borrow one of mine anymore.". The next three ended up being games for the console, with one being a special edition of Gala Omega. He looked up from the games to Chiaki, who's face screamed 'so?'.

"I love it." He responded with a smile, the first clear one in a while.

"Get a room you two, you already missed the midnight kiss!" Mahiru teased, setting up her camera.

"Wait, so did I!" Kazuichi panicked, looking over at Gundham and Sonia.

As the camera flash went off, Hajime's conscience kicked in. He was  _happy_. Chiaki was right, he didn't need a talent to be somebody, he was Hajime Hinata regardless. A person who had an amazing friend, and what looked to be like a great time at Hope's Peak. He would not accept any project if it meant changing who he became today, especially if it meant taking him away from here.

"Are you alright Hajime?" Chiaki asked, hoping he was comfortable here. He and the rest of the class would never forget the Chiaki from merely hours ago. Hajime made a promise to never let that happen ever again, and to always be there with her in times like those.

"If you are, then so am I." he said, making her giggle.

The class went late into the night with high hopes, wishing for the new year to be full of moments like these.

**Author's Note:**

> I do wish Hajime met the class in the anime in some capacity, but oh well. The timeline of events are also a little off than how they were in the anime, but I think it's fine here.
> 
> I tried my best to keep everyone's character accurate, and I hope you liked it.
> 
> ask me questions or make requests on tellonym: @waterbird


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